Something that is especially boring about Jose Quintana getting drilled on Opening Day, is that it’s essentially useless information. Quintana is established, his methods are proven and regimented. He might get a little better this year, he might fall back to career averages, and even if he totally falls apart, we're not going to know that this week.

Tim Anderson’s major league career, however, and the tendencies and trends that define it, are fresh and new, and also still regularly changing. Tuesday was his 100th big league game, so when I saw him go down swinging three times, each time finished off by a high fastball on top of the strike zone, it felt like a relevant development, possibly a new plan of attack from the opposition that he will have to deal with. But first, it’s crucial to issue a qualification.

The opposing starter on Tuesday was Justin Verlander. At this point in time, we are entering the 12th year of Justin Verlander getting swings-and-misses from major league hitters on elevated fastballs. This is not exactly the most Tim Anderson-specific development.

“He was elevating as he does,” White Sox manager Renteria said of Verlander. “He gets the strikeouts going just above. You see it at your eye level and it's kind of hard to lay off. We had a of guys that had a tough time laying off that pitch. Even though you talk about it, you go over it, it's still one of those things where you're facing an ace. He is an ace and he did what he normally does, he attacks the zone and then he ends up making you chase up out of the zone.”

For what it’s worth, Tigers reliever Bruce Rondon came on in the eighth inning and struck out Anderson in the same manner. Rondon is not a soft-tosser — he struck out Anderson on a 97 mph fastball — but it was nevertheless interesting to see Anderson attacked in the same way again. Anderson’s public comments come with a heavy dose of zen, where every problem is a temporary affliction with an inevitable solution, so the main takeaway from a question on whether he’s seen a team attack him this way with high velocity before is that he’s unfazed by it either way.

“Yeah, somewhat. Somewhat,” Anderson said. “I couldn’t quite find my zone today. I’ll come back out tomorrow, and the best thing about it is I get to come back out tomorrow and compete again.”

For his career, Brooks Baseball shows the attack pattern for Anderson is a pretty typical one for a right-handed batter, especially one who has to prove to the opposition that he can resist the urge to expand the strike zone.

Down and away. Probably a lot of sliders away, a la Carlos Quentin. This is where the majority of pretty much any breaking ball thrown to Anderson by other right-handers are going to be targeted. He has said he's pleased with the progress his plate discipline has made over the spring, and recognizing pitchers' effort to work him in the zone with breaking balls is likely to be his primary focus. But high fastballs — not heavily used previously from the looks of this heat map — could be a particular vulnerability. Onto to the next graphic!

This map of exit velocities from Baseball Savant show Anderson, in his career to date, is an effective high ball hitter within the zone, as well as someone who likes to turn on pitches low and inside. A high fastball, up on top of the zone, particularly looks like something he loves to mash, and could be cracking the catcher's mitt before it's apparent that it isn't.

Given the average pitch misses its spot by several inches, dancing on top of a hitter's wheelhouse to tempt a swing-and-miss is a little risque, but that could be where the it's Verlander rationalization comes in: the Tigers had a bunch of guys with high level fastballs throwing on Tuesday, and might be more willing to challenge Anderson this way than others. But nevertheless, it could be a new front for the White Sox's new centerpiece to battle on, as part of larger war to pare down the size of his strike zone and force pitchers to challenge him in spots where he can find pitches to drive.

Is he worried about this? Well, no, of course not.

“It was definitely hard to lay off today,” Anderson said. “But it’s one of those things that you gotta come out and keep competing and keep getting after it.”

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James Fegan is the lead writer on the White Sox for The Athletic Chicago. Previously, James founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of BP South Side, and his work has appeared in Baseball Prospectus, ESPN SweetSpot, The Rock River Times and Athlete's Quarterly. Follow James on Twitter @JRFegan.